Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,278,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 1,559,100 shares.The stock last traded at $11.76 and had previously closed at $10.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.57.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.16. The stock has a market cap of $852.81 million, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $178.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.07 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 5.62% and a net margin of 3.65%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engaged Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 121.5% during the third quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 6,114,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354,513 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Portillo’s in the third quarter valued at about $12,337,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Portillo’s by 307.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 522,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,079,000 after buying an additional 394,479 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 499.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,812,000 after acquiring an additional 326,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its position in Portillo’s by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,272,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,137,000 after acquiring an additional 288,675 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Portillo’s

Portillo’s Inc owns and operates fast casual restaurants in the United States. The company offers Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, chopped salads, crinkle-cut French fries, homemade chocolate cakes, and chocolate cake shake. It offers its products through its website, application, and certain third-party platforms.